T to explore whether the negative effects that are reported differ between those currently undergoing psychological treatment and those that have recently ended it, particularly because it could be affected by the treatment interventions they are receiving. This is also true for different treatment modalities, as it could be argued that the participants in the treatment group Roc-A solubility experienced negative effects that are very specific for a smartphone-delivered self-help treatment for social anxiety disorder. The inclusion of the media group, which was more heterogeneous in nature, may have prevented some of this problem, but further research should be conducted with more diverse samples in mind. Second, providing a list of negative effects is regarded as an aid for the participants in order to U0126 site recollect adverse and unwanted events that might have been experienced during treatment. However, such alternatives could also potentially affect the responses made by the participant, that is, choosing among negative effects that may not otherwise have been considered [80]. Given that the items included in the NEQ were partly developed using the results from open-ended questions, the alternatives should nevertheless still reflect adverse and unwanted events that are reasonable to assume among the participants. Third, with regard to the sensitive issue surrounding negative effects of psychological treatments, an instrument probing for adverse and unwanted events is probably prone to produce social desirability or induce other types of biases. Krosnick [48] provides a lengthy discussion on this issue, suggesting that norms, cohesion, and personal characteristics influence a participant’s ability to respond truthfully and validly. It could be argued that patients that are satisfied with the outcome of their treatment choose not to respond because of gratitude toward the researcher or therapist. Similarly, patients that are displeased with their treatment or therapist may decline to answer, or, alternatively, exaggerate the responses in order to convey their discontent. This is particularly relevant in relation to the media group, where the participants were recruited on the grounds of having experienced negative effects, making it plausible that only those who were unhappy about their psychological treatments responded, creating selection bias. Hence, future investigations should aim to replicate the findings in the current study by distributing the NEQ to random samples, for instance, at different outpatient clinics. Likewise, despite a low dropout rate from the treatment group (9.6 ), it is possible that those who did not complete the post treatment assessment, including the NEQ, may have been those who experienced deterioration, nonresponse, or adverse and unwanted events to a greater degree. Thus, the findings in the current study may have missed negative effects that were perceived but just not reported. Again, distributing the NEQ not only at post treatment assessment should avoid some of this shortcoming, as would follow-up interviews on those who choose not to continue with the treatment program. Fourth, administering an instrument that includes 60 items pose a risk of introducing a cognitive load on the participants, especially if used inPLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0157503 June 22,16 /The Negative Effects Questionnaireadjunct to other measures. This could have affected the validity of the responses as research indicates that participants o.T to explore whether the negative effects that are reported differ between those currently undergoing psychological treatment and those that have recently ended it, particularly because it could be affected by the treatment interventions they are receiving. This is also true for different treatment modalities, as it could be argued that the participants in the treatment group experienced negative effects that are very specific for a smartphone-delivered self-help treatment for social anxiety disorder. The inclusion of the media group, which was more heterogeneous in nature, may have prevented some of this problem, but further research should be conducted with more diverse samples in mind. Second, providing a list of negative effects is regarded as an aid for the participants in order to recollect adverse and unwanted events that might have been experienced during treatment. However, such alternatives could also potentially affect the responses made by the participant, that is, choosing among negative effects that may not otherwise have been considered [80]. Given that the items included in the NEQ were partly developed using the results from open-ended questions, the alternatives should nevertheless still reflect adverse and unwanted events that are reasonable to assume among the participants. Third, with regard to the sensitive issue surrounding negative effects of psychological treatments, an instrument probing for adverse and unwanted events is probably prone to produce social desirability or induce other types of biases. Krosnick [48] provides a lengthy discussion on this issue, suggesting that norms, cohesion, and personal characteristics influence a participant’s ability to respond truthfully and validly. It could be argued that patients that are satisfied with the outcome of their treatment choose not to respond because of gratitude toward the researcher or therapist. Similarly, patients that are displeased with their treatment or therapist may decline to answer, or, alternatively, exaggerate the responses in order to convey their discontent. This is particularly relevant in relation to the media group, where the participants were recruited on the grounds of having experienced negative effects, making it plausible that only those who were unhappy about their psychological treatments responded, creating selection bias. Hence, future investigations should aim to replicate the findings in the current study by distributing the NEQ to random samples, for instance, at different outpatient clinics. Likewise, despite a low dropout rate from the treatment group (9.6 ), it is possible that those who did not complete the post treatment assessment, including the NEQ, may have been those who experienced deterioration, nonresponse, or adverse and unwanted events to a greater degree. Thus, the findings in the current study may have missed negative effects that were perceived but just not reported. Again, distributing the NEQ not only at post treatment assessment should avoid some of this shortcoming, as would follow-up interviews on those who choose not to continue with the treatment program. Fourth, administering an instrument that includes 60 items pose a risk of introducing a cognitive load on the participants, especially if used inPLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0157503 June 22,16 /The Negative Effects Questionnaireadjunct to other measures. This could have affected the validity of the responses as research indicates that participants o.
